Our graduate program is mentor-based. Students train under the direct guidance of one or more specific faculty members whose scholarly interests parallel their own. Prospective students are expected to identify faculty they view as potential mentors. The department is divided into seven general areas of study. Students apply to a specific area of study and not to the department as a whole. Students collaborate with their mentors and other faculty in their area of study to determine the coursework and training that best meets the student's career goals. Psychology is a dynamic field. With its focus on the understanding of behavior of both humans and animals, our field is poised at the juncture between biological and social forces. New discoveries are constantly informing our work and changing the way we go about our business, whether in terms of theory, application, or methods. If you are curious, creative, and energetic, there is no better time for you to be pursuing advanced study in psychology. <br><br>The Behavioral Neuroscience area offers a course of study in neuroanatomical, neurochemical, neurophysiological, and neurocomputational aspects of brain functions as they relate to various behavioral and cognitive processes. Specific faculty research interests include learning and memory (e.g., taste, fear, eyeblink conditioning, multiple memory systems), motivation (e.g., drinking, feeding, stress), spatial cognition (e.g., place, head direction cells), development and sensory processing (e.g., audition, vision).